A proposal to grant licence to a new company to operate taxis in Qatar has been put in abeyance, says a report published in a local Arabic daily. The newspaper, quoting Mowasalat’s business promotion manager Ahmed al-Ansari, said that the present fleet of taxis and buses and the scope of operation are adequate and do not warrant an additional operator. Answering questions on a wide range of issues concerning Mowasalat, al-Ansari said that complaints from the public have gone down by 90%; the number of bus routes has gone up from 37 to 55 with plans to further increase it to 100 by the end of this year. Asked about starting services to neighbouring countries, he said the lack of a regular bus station was the main obstacle in implementing this plan. “The present main bus station in Doha is handling four times its normal capacity; it is a temporary set-up and may be closed down any time.” Commenting on why Qatari nationals are not inclined to use the public transport, he said it was a question of social attitude. “The situation will change after a period of time; the Gulf citizens in general are used to the luxury of driving their own cars. They are hesitant to mix with the expatriates who travel in these buses. However, a day will come when they will realise that it is easier and comfortable to travel by the public transport rather than drive in one’s own vehicle in heavy traffic.” http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=366626&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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